News in the world of the iPhone has slowed a bit now that we’ve passed the launch phase, but there’s still plenty of tidbits and info to fill the pages of iPhone Buzz. With that said, let’s take a brief look at what this past week has held in store.

The App Store was in the spotlight once again this week as several new apps were announced. iVerse Comics will be coming to the App Store soon, which allows users to access comic books via individual icons on their iPhone home screens. An LED football game, that is very reminiscent of the old handheld games is on the way, too. BeeJive, which was formerly called JiveTalk, offers a more functional IM experience and is even outfitted with background notification should Apple activate it.

We got our hands on a leaked video that showed Last.fm v2.0 in action and Sharpcast’s SugarSync was revealed to be a MobileMe alternative for those who are fed up with the Apple cloud. Most interesting of all, however, is a possible Steve Jobs email that revealed an official tethering function might be coming to the iPhone soon.

The reception issues that dominated last week’s news carried over into this week when a series of independent surveys revealed iPhone 3G performance varies over regions and the networks themselves are what need fixing, not the phone’s internal antenna. Over the course of these tests, Orange France admitted to capping their 3G speeds, but now promised to raise them. We also got a good look at just why the 3G is so slow. It seems all iPhone users need to update to the latest firmware version–otherwise the users with the old version will continue to bog down the network.

Two new international data plans from AT&T were made available to iPhone users on Wednesday and though its intent was to lower prices, it’s still rather steep. A security flaw was revealed this week as well that made it so even password protected phones could be hacked by a few taps of the home button. But not to worry, Apple has admitted to the flaw and will include a fix in the next update.

If you’re keeping up with the Dev Team, you already known Pwnage Tool 2.0.3 is already out. Plus, a brand new iPhone magazine will be released on September 9th called iPhone Life that gives readers the scoop on the latest news, reviews and more.

Finally, this week we featured a review of the BlueAnt V1 Voice Control Bluetooth Headset, which features voice activation functions. And though the audio wasn’t quite as good as it could be, this headset offers functionality like to other.

It seems Apple and AT&T are in talks regarding adding a tethering option to the iPhone. One user emailed Apple to complain about the lack of this feature, especially considering it is offered on most other smartphones for $30/month.

Supposedly, Steve Jobs replied and said:

We agree, and are discussing it with ATT.

Steve

Interesting. AT&T actually does offer a tethering option for their other smartphones for, you guessed it, $30 a month. But the iPhone has been excluded from this. For those who don’t know, tethering is a feature that allows a user to connect to the Internet through their cell phone. In effect, turning their phone into an Internet connection for a laptop. As you may remember, Nullriver’s Netshare was pulled from the App Store recently because it offered this very feature.

[via MacRumors]

Video of the Last.fm v2.0 app has been leaked and we’re now getting a sneak peek at what it holds in store. It appears you can listen to music based on tags you type in, whether that be an artist’s name, a style of music or even “Apple ad” as shown in the video included after the jump.

You can also tag music, create playlists, send it to your friends and even find out more about the artists you’re listening to. When listening to an artist, you can also choose from similar music and view touring schedules. You can even add a concert date to your calendar. Pretty cool stuff.

Sections for Top Artists, Top Albums and more are also available. You can also view your friend’s playlists and favorite songs.

[Thanks, Kevin Rose! via Twitter]

We talked about the arrival of several iPhone-related magazines in Japan, but one will be hitting newsstands in the US in just a few weeks. On September 9, iPhone Life will be available by subscription or in local stores. The magazine features content that cover all aspects of the iPhone, from news, how-to’s, reviews and more.

Published by Thaddeus Computing, the premier issue features:

The 100-page premier issue includes:

• Full coverage of the new 3G iPhone
• Top software from the iTunes store
• 85 hidden features
• Best FREE software and web apps
• How to Rip DVDs
• Must-have accessories
• Safari surprises
• iPhone profiles of a doctor, rabbi, student, mayor, CEO
• Celebrities who have iPhones

Regular departments include profiles of people who have integrated the iPhone into their life, articles telling users how to get the most out of their iPhone, resources available on the Internet such as free software and support, and more.

From the publisher of Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine, iPhone Life will be available at most major bookstores. A subscription costs $25 for issues up to 2010.

If you have been let down by MobileMe, you might be pleased to learn that there is an alternative out there for your iPhone. It’s called SugarSync and it’s a relatively inexpensive way to keep all your data together without the problems of MobileMe.

Made by Sharpcast, SugarSync is an Internet srvice tailored for the iPhone. It works by backing up your media files online and then syncing your data to all of your devices, including your iPhone, Mac or PC or what have you.

The app is free to download. However, you will have to pay a monthly fee or yearly fee for the service, which ranges from $25 to $250 a year. This fluctuation depends on how much data you sync. If you’re unsure about this service, you can give it a try through their trial offer.

[via Gadget Lab at Wired.com]

Yesterday, it came out that the iPhone has a serious security flaw that makes it so someone can hack into your phone even if there’s a password activated. But now Apple is coming out and confirming the flaw and stating a fix is on the way.

We can expect a fix sometime in September, though Apple isn’t all that concerned with it, calling it “minor.” This is because you can easily hide the flaw by setting your home button to take you to your iPod instead of your favorites.

Maybe Apple is just overwhelmed with all the other fixes people are calling for? Even so, if you ask me, it’s a bit discourteous to customers to dismiss the flaw so eagerly. But that’s just my opinion.

[via Engadget]

It seems like all I’m talking about these days are iPhone problems and reception issues, but here we go again! This time, a source at AT&T has taken a stab at explaining exactly what the latest firmware update fixed and why it’s now in iPhone user’s hands to put the problem to rest.

The 2.0.2 update made it so the iPhone did not need as high of signal in order to get and maintain a 3G connection. With so many phones attempting to get a high signal when it’s not needed, the network was overloaded, resulting in dropped calls. Well, that explains the problem, but what about those still experiencing problems?

Now it’s in the hands of iPhone users to actually download the update! With non-updated phones still trying to connect to the network, they’re still hogging the system and causing dropped calls for themselves and others. In short, update your phone, people!

[via DailyTech]

Apple has created a survey to help them get a better idea of how people actually feel about the iPhone 3G. The survey is being sent out by Medallia, a feedback agent.

The survey contains several questions that span the gamut of the typical iPhone user’s experience. For instance, there are questions about whether or not you’ve had to take in your phone for repair or replacement, if you’re a Mac or Windows user, and if this is your first Apple product.

Since many have been reporting problems with the iPhone as of late, it should be interesting to see what sorts of answers people are submitting, if and when the results are ever released.

[via Gadget Lab at Wired.com]